


Roses to the Afterlife

by hikaridrop



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Atem left to the afterlife, Atem x Yugi, His friends aren't helping either, M/M, Puzzleshipping, This is yaoi of course, Yami and Yugi, Yami x Yugi, Your usual fic where Atem comes back to life, Yugi and Yami, Yugi tries to move on but can't, Yugi x Atem, Yugi x Yami
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 06:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7088278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikaridrop/pseuds/hikaridrop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the 4th anniversary of Atem's return to the afterlife. Just like every year, Yugi goes to egypt to visit the place where the final duel took place and leaves one single rose there. But what if this year Yugi finds one single piece of the millenium puzzle in the desert? Is that a sign? Can he still reach Atem somehow?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roses to the Afterlife

Today was the most important day of the year for a grown up teen named Yugi. And like every year Yugi went to egypt for said day. But it wasn't a day to celebrate. Today was the 4th anniversary of Atem's return to the afterlife.

Every year Yugi had come back to the location where the final battle between dark and light took place. The place where he left to the afterlife, the place his soul finally could rest in peace.

The now almost as Atem tall boy stood in the empty desert, the sun burning down on him as if Ra personally was trying to tell him to leave. But not even the gods themselves could break the hikari's will to keep the memories of his other half present in his mind like a fresh wound.

Just like every year Yugi had arrived alone with one single red rose he would place on the ground where everything that could have reminded him of Atem was buried underneath.

No one besides his grandfather knew about his yearly visits to the foreign country. It was something Yugi wanted to do by himself but his friends would have insisted to join him if he told them. He knew they only worried about him but he really wanted to do this alone.

The Hikari got on his shaking knees, eyeing the single flower he placed in front of him and wondered if it's message would ever reach Atem in the afterlife. A red rose represented love after all. Would his feelings ever cross the boundaries of the living?

Fresh tears rolled down his pale cheeks and Yugi didn't even bother to supress them. On the contrary, the small light sank to the ground, nails buried in the hot sand, as he let his tears fall freely.

"A-Atem�...Mou Hitori no Boku...why did you have to leave�?" It must have been a miserable sight, a grown up boy lying on the ground, crying after his lost love.

But today was the only day Yugi actually could let out his pain freely. Every other day of the year he had to pretend in front of everybody. Even his friends. Pretend to be happy, to have moved on. But his heart never was able to move on.

The minutes passed by slowly until the poor light ran out of tears to cry. But his heart was still hurting, not able to rest. "I wanted to be with you forever� I would have given you all my memories�"

The memories of his darker half were haunting him. Pictures of the day where he almost lost the Puzzle in the fire were burning in his mind.

"D-didn't you say you want to be with me forever as well? If you didn't lie, then why!?"

The hikari was close to screaming but it wasn't like anyone could hear him around here. He was completely alone, no friends, no family and no Mou Hitori no Boku�

He knew the answer to why he left. He knew it was the right thing to do as well. Yugi knew that Atem was merely a spirit who deserved to find peace. He knew it all but it didn't lessen the pain.

His fingers digged deeper into the sand and his body continued to shake uncontrollably. The hikari had no more energy left to scream. But inside his mind he was still crying at the top of his lungs.

'I miss you so much. �I feel so alone without you, Mou Hitori no Boku�. And I couldn't even tell you! Tell you I-'

Yugi's thoughts abruptly came to halt as he felt something non-sand like underneath his fingertips. Usually he would have immediately pulled his hand away. It could have been anything he just touched! Maybe even a skeleton. But whatever it was, it felt familiar to him. So familiar that it kept moving him to grab it in his hand before pulling it out if the dirt.

Any what he saw made his whole body stiff. This was a piece of the� No it couldn't be. The millenium puzzle had been destroyed along with the other items! He had seen it with his own eyes. But why did he hold one of its pieces in his hands? And if there was one piece left, what about the others?

Without hesitation Yugi began to dig with his own pale hands where he had just found the puzzle piece. Like an insane person he kept pushing his hands into the burning hot sand which left painful marks on them. But he was beyond caring about the physical pain.

And so the hikari continued to shovel a deep hole into the sand without rest. He had nothing on him besides his clothes and the rose he brought along. He had no food or water which he both needed. But his mind was too focused on finding the puzzle that he ignored his body's urgent need for water.

The sun already began to set down by now, which means Yugi must have been digging at the same spot for at least 5 hours now. His fingerd were already numb from his work and he had been bitten several times by all kinds of animals who were hiding in the sand but he didn't stop. It had to be somewhere. It just had to be!

Now the sun was completely gone and the moon and the stars filled the dark sky with light. But now that the sun was gone the previous heat had been replaced with an unbearable cold. It was freezing outside and Yugi's pale body went even paler from the temperature. It also got more difficult to dig with his hands since they were shaking from the cold.

It was just then when Yugi came back to his senses and took a break for the first time. The light eyed his hands carefully. They were blue from the cold and bleeding from all kinds of scatches and wounds. Amethyst eyes widened in horror as realization hit him along with the pain he finally started to feel. What was he doing?

Tired eyes wandered around to see the result of his work. He was surrounded by walls of sand and dirt, meaning he must have been digging quite deep. He had gotten this deep and still had found nothing.

Carefully, as if it was his lifeline, Yugi took the only golden piece left of the millenium puzzle in his wounded hands and pressed it against his chest lovingly. I made him feel closer to Atem even though it just reminded him once more that his other half was truly gone.

"I am sorry�" he mumbled to himself, new tears rolling down from his closed eyes.

Yugi could feel his consciousness slowly drifting away from exhaustion. His body has been out here for much too long without and any water or food.

"Atem...�" Was the last thing that left the light's frozen lips before he drifted off into a deep slumber.

 

The next time Yugi opened his eyes again he saw nothing but white around him. It blended him at first but he soon got used to the brightness. Where was he? This wasn't the hole in the desert he was in before, that's for sure.

The teen stood up, not sure how his energy had returned but he wasn't going to complain about it either. Instead he decided to walk foreward, hoping that it would lead him somewhere. But it was pointless. No matter where he went, it was like he didn't move at all. Everything remained plain white.

He was about to give up, accepting his fate, until the single puzzle piece in his hand began to glow in a soft olden light. Surprised he held it up and eyed it carefully. What was that supposed to mean? After all those years the hikari knew the puzzle wouldn't react for no good reason. Now he only had to find out what that reason was.

But his question should be answered sooner than expected as a shadow appeared in the white space. Yugi concentrated on the silhouette as it slowly began to appear in the form of a human being. But not any human being. Amethys eyes widened, his gasp echoing in the endless space.

"A-Atem!" Yugi called out, not believing his eyes. It couldn't be. He was dead, right? Atem had left to the afterlife. But the pharao just smiled calmly at his light, knowing what the smaller one thought. The taller finally walked up in front of him and Yugi took the sight in, still not able to understand.

"Aibou� what took you so long?" His dark half's voice sent shivers down his spine. It had been way too long. He missed his deep and rich voice. It always gave him comfort and strength and it still did.

As a reply the smaller teen threw himself into the pharao's tanned strong arms, tears of joy streaming down is face.

"M-Mou Hitori no Boku� I missed you so much" The poor teen was sobbing uncontrollably in Atem's arms who kept holding his hikari firmly.

"Ssh...�it's okay Aibou�" The dark soothed his precious light. Yugi continued to sob into the pharaoh's chest until he finally accepted the fact that this was really his yami in front of him, embracing him.

As Yugi finally started to calm down, he lifted his head from Atem's chest, meeting his other half's gaze. Their faces where so close he could feel the other's breath on his lips.

"Mou Hitori no Boku�. I-I have to tell you something�" 

Yugi knew his voice was shaking from nervousness. But he missed his chance once four years ago and he wasn't going to miss this one either. He was about to go on but was interrupted by Atem's slender fingers on his lips silencing him.

"I know Aibou�." Now Yugi truly looked shocked and Atem couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"I got your roses.�" the dark whispered while moving closer to his Hikari until their lips where merely inches apart.

"I got them every year�." And with that Atem finally closed the gap between dark and light, kissing his light with care and love as if he was something made out of glass.

Just as their lips touched Yugi could feel their mind link returning. He could feel it. He could feel him. Yugi could feel every emotion, every thought and the very presence of his other half in his mind. A single tear escaped his watery eyes but Atem made sure to gently wipe it away with his thumb before it could fall.

Sadly the pharao broke the kiss again much to Yugi's dismay. Both opened their eyes again, which they hadn't even noticed closing, to look at each other.

Yugi knew that his other half already knew. But he wasn't going to hide behind his Yami like before. He would show the courage he obtained from Atem and say it.

"I love you... Mou Hitori no Boku." Atem's eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight in front of him. There was his light, smiling like an angel while actually bringing up the courage to confess to him instead of using the easier way: their mind link.

"I love you, too, little one�" Hearing those words from his darker half made Yugi the happiest he had ever been in his life. A last tear of pure happiness rolled off his cheek, and fell down right on the puzzle piece he held on tightly in his hand.

Just as the tear hit the golden item, the white room was completely covered in a bright golden light, forcing Atem and Yugi to shield their eyes from it.

 

As Yugi removed his arm and carefully opened one eye after another he found himself back in the desert. He was at the same spot where he had kneeled in front of the red rose. But the rose itself was gone.

Yugi could feel his heart shattering again. Had everything been a dream? It couldn't be�

Emptiness was about to return into the lights heart as he suddenly saw two feet stepping into his view.

Yugi's head shot up in surprise, only to see Atem standing in front of him with four red roses in his hand. The sun behind him was shining down on him like a god-like appearance which he was to Yugi. 

Atem was here� in flesh and blood. The pharao seemed to have read that thought through their mind link because he chuckled deeply in amusement before taking Yugi's now healed hand into his own, pulling him up from his knees.

Yugi smiled widely and Atem could only return that happiness on his own facial features. "I told you I got your roses every year, Aibou."

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write something cute but this is more angst than fluff :'D  
> Oh well, I hope you like it anyway!


End file.
